Shock absorber



Feb. 3, 1948. Y 2,435,200

SHOCK ABSORBER Fil'ed Aug. 9, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTO R N EYS Feb. 3, 1948.

R. A. CLAY SHCK ABSORBER Filed Aug. 9. 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR ATTORNEYS.

Patented Feb. 3, 1948 UNETED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHOCK I}BSORBER Robert A. Gl awfSan Antonio, Tex.

Application August 9, 1946, Serial No. 689,578

This nvention relates 170 shock absorbers for automobles, and more particuarly to shock absorbers of the type commonl-y .employed in connection with independe-ntly spr.ung so.oal-led knee action front Wheels.

A type of shock absorber which has he.en used for a, number of years as standard equprnent on oertan well known makes .of automobilles comprises a hydraulic cy inder .eontaining a piston operaized by a pivoted arm, whch arm is con-- zne.cted With the spndle support of the front Whe.el. I t has he.en fo.und npraotice that this .equipment does not aord quite 2.5 much stabilizng action as is desr.able for maximum efircency and drvi-ng comfort, and {che general obj.ecfb of the present invention s 130 provide a shock absorb.er structure of this charaefcer having .greater stahilzng ablity.

A more speoifio ;bj.t of the invention is to provide an attachmen-t f or -the.standard hydraulo shock absorbsr of the above descrbed type, suoh attaohment compri-sing an auxlary shock absorber, so that, wh en applied, a dual shock absorber structur.e is produc.ed -whioh afiords the desred stahilitsn. x

A stll further specific obj.ect .of the invention s fico pro.vde -an attac-hment of ths oharaciaer which .may be readily applied io 11318 standard equpmerrt :now use, ami mount.ed thereon by means of the same b0'1178 or studs used .to s,ecure the standard equpment in postion.

In order that the inventiori may be neadily umderst0od, referencs .s had to the ao.oompanw 6 Qlams. (01.1.88-48) mg dra-wing, formng part of. ths'spocifioat-ion, A

a-r1d in which- Fig. 1 is a perspeotive vew slrowmg II1'Y improved aotach-ment .as appsfirs wsren am ied to one of the standard, hydm:uhc WEB shock absorber-s now in gommon use:

2 is a ragmentary -s=ride eevation showing a portion of such standard shock aosorber the braeket of my mpro-ved :attaohmenz securod thereto. parts ben-g loro-ken -away, and pants bein-g in section;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the part of the frame on which the standard shock absorloe-r is mounted, such vew ,shoWin-g the securng boLts or studs;

Fig. 4 is a per-speotive vew Of the attachment tself as it appears befone heing mounted in plage;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation -showng a modified form of bracke,t Wh'i"h I may employ in place of that illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 ami 4;

F 'g. 6 is a view of the same braeket lookng in a dreeton at ri-g-ht ang1es to that of Fi 5:. and

Fig. 7 s -.a tr-ansverse sec-tion onthe line 'I-' of Fig. 6, ,lookn-g in the direoton o. the arrows.

Referring 1 0 the drawings in detail, A designates a part of the automobile frame to Which s secured a socket or housing B adapted ho receve the upper end of the usual coil spring B.

2 The standard hydraul-ic typ.e shock absorbe1is indicatocl ab C ami ii: comprises a hydraulic gyli;n, del .anci pisfson, (che latter beins operated by a pivo.t.ed arm comprisi'rng. the spaced mem-bers D, brought fuosethor a:t the-r -free end-s and pivotally connecte.d by means .of a Pio or bo1t E with the usualspindle supnort F.

The standard; hvdraulic shock absorber C 125 :formed 1zvinh a base hawng t hree perforated ears 0.=1 Jrugs C ad;apted fit over threaded ,studs or b0its I, 2 anni ,3 welded as at 4 to sutable bosses on the spring housin B- .My improved attaehmenb eomprises a. bracket axtand-ng vert-callm that 1 to say, al; rght anslss ;to thoa-xs Q the cylinder of the hyd-raulic shock. absorber Y lae upper end of thebraoket5 is formed with a boss -5 through which extends a pn or bo];t "E, 011 WGJ. ;is pivoted the eye 8 O- a-n asro-trpfi auxiliary shock absorber oomprising ths t wo telescopic-tubl1lar Se.c;to ns 9 and H). This telescopio or extension type .auxilary shock absorber comprses relativelymovable oylinder -and -piston elements, amd may -be of any Well known and suitable constmotion, sueh, for example, as thas shown in Patent No. 2,351,662, ssuod J1m e 2.0, 1.944,130 D. L. Christofe1. v

An sye H se oured to the secton [10 of the auxiliary Shock absorher, i-s attached by means of a bol{o 12 to a spli t -cl;amp 13. wh 'ch embraces the -arm members D adiiacent'thei-r free ends, at the point wheyre 1;hey lie olosetogether. Thus, .the auxiliary shock -absor,ber 9, M3 extends diagonal=ly Joe:tweerr the upper end of -my improved bra ket and fiche free end of the main shock ab- -sorber arm.

M y meth-Od -of abtachi-ng the mpr-oved braoket, construct.ed as above descrbed, to the standard equipme-n-t. is as ioll=ows. The lovver end of the braoket 5 is jormed into a relatvely broad base of more or 1ess triangular configuration. and th-is base is provided at its -thr-e.e .corners with tubuar hollowbosses 4.,15 ami .i-E These -b0ss es are so positioned that they regster with the studs 2 armi 3, wh-ioh pro:.ect up through the perforated lugs of the main shock absorber C, The internal dameiier of the open-mg or boro in thetubularbosses M, -fl5 MS is greater than the d-ameter Qf the bo-1-ts or stms I, 2 and 3, so that a space is provided wLt;-hin such bare Lo accommodate ,barrel nuts suolo as H and 48., as best. shown in Fig. 2. The end portions-of 1bhese barrel nu-t are formed with nteriorly threaded .S0kfits 19 In :applying my mpr.oved attachment to the standard equpme-Ixt, I finst remove the mountng nu;bs mat hovsm) whiczh normally enga fiche studs J, 2 ami 3;, to hold the standard shock absorber C in postion. I then place the improved brackt' in poston, Wth the tubular bosses I4, I5 and l6 fitting over the ends of the studs I, 2

and 3, from whch the standard nuts have been removed. The barrel nuts, such as I! and i8, are then inserted in the tubular bosses, such as H1 and l5, and the threaded sockets a1: their lower ends engaged over the upstanding threaded ends of the studs I; 2 and 3. By tightening these barre] nuts, the bracket 5 is thus mounted upon the standard shock absorber C end s rigidly secured thereto. I-Iaving thus secured the bracket in position, the eyes 8 and Il of the auxiliary shock absorber 9, ID, are attached to the bolts I and l2 and the split bracket 13 placed around the arm members D.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have provided an attachment for the standard shock absorber equipment noW in use, which attachment, when in pcsition, provides a. dual shock absorber structure, the auxiliary shock absorber 9, Il! supplementing the action of the man shock absorber C end thus providng the desred additional shock absorbing action or stabilty.

Whle, in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, I ha.ve shown my improved bracket as formed by casting, I have illustrated in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 a modfied construction of bracket which is fabricated from sheet metal.

Referring to these figures, this form of bracket comprises a, stamping 5, of channel form, but tap ering both ways, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6, end provided ai: its upper end with an opening 6' for attachment of the auxiliary shock absorber. 'Ihe 1ower large end of the stamping 5 is welded as ai: 5 to a base member 5*. This is ci substantial inverted U-shape and is provided ai: its ends With outwardly extendng perfora.ted 1ugs or feet H and 16.

A third piace l9, in the nature of a. flat plate, is placed against the back of the channel stamping 5' and secured thereto by welding, as at 19. This pece |9 s provided with a dovvnwardly extending 1eg I9", havng ai; ts 1ower end a, perforated 1eg or foot [5.

Thus the lugs or feet Il, 15' and Mi of this modified constructon correspond With the bosses M, |5 ami |6 shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4.

While in these first figures it was necessary to use barre1 nuts to secure the bosses to the studs I, in the modified construction shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 no barrel nuts are necessary, but the perforated lugs or feet, which fit over the studs I, can be secured thereto by means of the same nuts which origna.lly he1d the main shock absorber in postion. Thus, the modified construction has the advantage of being cheaper to produce and simpler to attach to the existing equpment.

It will be apparent that our mproved attachmeni; can be applicd to the existing equipment without, in any way, modifying or disturbing the same, the improved bracket, shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 4, being secured by means of barrel nuts to the same mounting studs which normally hold the main shock absorber in positon, while the form of bracket shown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 may be secured to such studs by the same nuts as are used to hold the original equipment. It is therefora thought that the many advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated by those familiar with such matters.

What we claim is:

1. Ah attachment for shock absorbers having a body includng a hydraulic cylnder end a pivoted arm connected therewith, said attachment comprsng a. bracket constructed to be secured to the body of the shock absorber, and an auxliary telescopic-type shock absorber connected ai; one end to said bracket end having means by Whch the other end may be attached to sad pivoted arm.

2. A11 attachment for shock absorbers having a hydraulic cylinder and pivoted arm connected therewth, said attachment comprising a bracket constructed to be rigidly secured ai; one end to the shock absorber in a position projecting at righi; angles to the axis of said cylinder, and an auxliary extension-type shock absorber connected a.t one end with the free end of said bracket, said auxiliary shock absorber havng means by whch its other end may be attached to said pivoted arm adjacent its end, whereby said auxiliary shock absorber extends diagonally between said arm end bracket.

3. Ah attachment for shock absorbers havng a hydraulc cylinder and pivoted arm connected therewith, and formed With openings through which extend threaded studs for securing it in poston, said attachment comprising a bracket having a base formed Wth openngs registerng Wth said studs, nuts adapted to engage sad studs for mounting said bracket rigidly on said shock absorber, and an auxiliary telescopic-type shock absorber connected ai: one end to said bracket at a point spaced from said main shock absorber end having means by which the other end may be attached to saicl pivoted arm.

4. An attachment for shock absorbers having a hydraulic cylinder and pivoted arm connected therewith, and formed with openings through which extend threaded studs for securing it in position, said attachment comprising a bracket having a base formed wth openings registering with sad studs, said openings being longer end of Iarger diameter than said studs, barrel nuts extending down through said openings and engagng said studs for securing said bracket in place on sad shock absorber, and an auxilary telescopic-type shock absorber connected ai: one end to said bracket and having means by which the other end may be attached to said pivoted arm.

5. A dual shock absorber structure comprsing a man shock absorber havng a hydraulic cylinder and a pivoted arm connected therewith, an elongated bracket rgidly secured to said shock absorber and projecting therefrom in a directon ai; rght angles to the axs of sad cylinder, and an extension-type auxliary shock absorber connected at one end to said bracket ai: a point spaced from sad main shock absorber and at the other end to said arm, whereby both the main and auxiliary shock absorbers co-operate to contro1 the movements of said arm.

6. A dual shock absorber structure comprising a, main shock absorber having a hydraulic cylinder end a pivoted arm connected therewith, safid shock absorber having openings through which extend fixed studs, a bracket having a base provided With openings registerng with the openngs in sad shock absorber, barrel nuts extending through the openings in said base end engaging said studs to secure salid bracket in position on sad main shock absorber, and an auxliary extension-type shock absorber connected ai: one end to the free end of said bracket and at the other end. to said arm, adjacent the end thereof.

ROBER'I' A. CLAY. 

